Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl

It may be freezing outside, but it's a sure sign that spring is coming when the 18-wheeler leaves Fenway Park for Fort Myers, Fla. And that will happen at 1 o'clock today, as the Red Sox move their equipment to Florida to prepare for the start of spring training. The truck will also carry a box of e-mail printouts containing fans' wishes for a good season from the Sox in 2009.

Reporting day for Red Sox pitchers and catchers is Thursday, and workouts begin two days later.

Photographer Gretchen Ertl is on scene at Fenway as packing continues, and she'll have video of the event later today at projosports.com.

URI's senior guard will answer your questions about the Rams from noon to 1 p.m. today, the day before URI hosts Temple. You can submit questions ahead of time by going to projo.com/chat, clicking launch chat, choosing a display name (you don't need a password) and entering the college hoops chat room.

When typing a question, do not press enter or click send until you have finished your thought; doing so will cause an incomplete question to be submitted. Jimmy will see your questions when he enters the chat room today, and he will answer as many as he can in the hour of his time.

This year's schedule of high school football rivalry games begins in about an hour, when Hope and Central meet at Providence's Conley Stadium in the first game of a city double-header. There are five other games on tonight's high school schedule, and 15 games set for tomorrow morning around Rhode Island. Click here to see tonight's games, and here to see tomorrow's games, and here to vote for the winners.

We'll have photo galleries later tonight from the intra-Warwick matchup between Toll Gate and Hendricken, as well as the intra-Pawtucket game pitting Tolman against Shea.

Tomorrow, we're planning photo coverage of La Salle-East Providence, Cranston East-Cranston West, North Kingstown-South Kingstown and Pilgrim-Warwick Vets, as well as a video from the Tiverton-Central Falls game. It will all be posted, along with complete results and game summaries, throughout the evening tomorrow.

Online now, you can read a couple of interesting Thanksgiving football stories from John Gillooly: one about Hope center/linebacker Shea Deignan's unlikely path to stardom, and another about a relatively new Thanksgiving rivalry between Exeter/West Greenwich and Chariho.

Gritty Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia has been named Most Valuable Player of the American League for 2008. Pedroia is the 10th Red Sox player to win the award since 1931, and the first since Mo Vaughn in 1995.

Pedroia got 16 of the 28 first-place votes and easily beat out Minnesota slugger Justin Morneau. Pedroia's teammate Kevin Youkilis finished third.

The award is an amazing accomplishment for the 25-year-old Pedroia, who played his second full season with the Red Sox in 2008. After all, he struggled so badly through his first two months as a major leaguer (at the end of 2006 and the beginning of 2007) that many observers, turned off by his small stature and big swing, thought he would never amount to much. But the 5-9, 180-pound Pedroia turned things around in a big way in 2007, going on to win the American League Rookie of the Year award, batting .317 on the season.

In 2008, he was even better. He finished with a .326 batting average (second in the league), 17 home runs, 118 runs scored (first in the league) and 83 RBI. He stole 20 bases -- compared with seven in 2007 -- while being caught stealing just once. And he was the only member of the 2008 Red Sox to win a Gold Glove.

Pedroia becomes the third player in either league to win Rookie of the Year and MVP awards in consecutive seasons. Philadelphia's Ryan Howard did it in 2005 and 2006, while Baltimore's Cal Ripken Jr. did it in 1982 and 1983. Two players -- Fred Lynn of the Red Sox in 1975 and Ichiro Suzuki of the Mariners in 2001 -- won both awards in the same season.

Pedroia is also the first American League second baseman to win the MVP award since Nellie Fox of the White Sox in 1959.

Pedroia will have a conference call with the media at 3, and we'll have news from that event this afternoon on our projo SoxBlog. For now, you can read why sports writer Joe McDonald feels that Pedroia is a deserving candidate, see a gallery of photos from Pedroia's 2008 season, and tell us if Pedroia would have gotten your vote.

University of Rhode Island head basketball coach Jim Baron is now taking questions during a live chat on projo.com, as his team prepares to open its regular season.

Click here to submit questions between noon and 1 p.m. or just tune in to read the conversation.. Then, click "launch chat," choose a display name (you do not need a password) and enter the "college hoops" chat room. From there, you can follow the directions for submitting a question.

For the first time in 14 years, the Boston Red Sox are freezing prices on tickets for all pre-existing seats and standing-room space at Fenway Park. The team will also freeze ticket prices for spring-training games in Fort Myers, Fla.

"We have been listening to fans, friends, and family about the challenges they are facing in light of the current adverse economic conditions," said Larry Lucchino, Red Sox president/CEO, in a story on the team web site. "We are also grateful for the unwavering faith and support our fans have shown us year after year and we hope our ownership's decision to hold prices for the upcoming season will in some way help ease the burden on Red Sox Nation."

The last time the Red Sox froze ticket prices across the board was 1995, following a player strike that ended the 1994 season without a World Series and left the game in a severe state of crisis.

Playing in the smallest park in baseball and riding the longest consecutive sellout streak in baseball history, the Red Sox in 2008 had the highest average ticket price -- $48.80 -- in the major leagues.

Special discount programs for active duty military and clergy will continue in 2009, while premium seat contractual ticketholders may freeze their ticket prices at 2008 levels if they extend their contracts for an additional season.

Journal photo / M. Charles Bakst
In a scene reminiscent of political conventions, balloons drop on attendees of a of the newly renovated Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence. Click here to see a video tour of the changes.

By KEVIN McNAMARA
Journal Sports Writer

PROVIDENCE - An array of Rhode Island political leaders have just christened the newly renovated Dunkin' Donuts Center.

A three-year, $80-million renovation of the building is finally over, and the dignitaries on hand today were clearly excited about the finished product.

"Does this look beautiful or what," said Governor Carcieri, just back from the National Republican Convention at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. "This is a great example of what can get done and what is good about our little state."

Rhode Island Convention Center Authority chairman David Duffy said he expects the building known as "the Dunk" and Convention Center to be able to attract several high-profile sporting events in the coming years. The first is already booked when the NCAA basketball tournament returns to Providence in 2010.

"A strong, mid-market city like Providence wouldn't be the same without a building like this," Duffy said.

The building's first event will be an All-access Open House on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The building will be open, free of charge, for customers who can tour through the Providence College basketball and Providence Bruins locker rooms, see the luxury suites, walk on the PC hoop floor, sit in the brand-new cushioned seats and take part in interactive games and contests.

On Sunday night, the American Idols Live Tour comes to the Dunk on Sunday night.

The high school football season begins soon, and John Gillooly is ready to answer your questions about what to expect in the coming months. Join John for a live web chat from 7 to 8 tonight. You can send in your questions in advance: Go to projo.com/chat, click the red "launch chat" button, choose a display name (you don't need a password), enter the high school football chat room and follow the instructions.

Providence welterweight Demetrius Andrade predicted a big victory today, and he just delivered, taking it to Russia's Andrey Balanov for a 14-3 decision. The 2007 world champion now advances to the quarterfinals, where he will face three-time Olympian Jungjoo Kim of South Korea, who easily dispatched the U.S. Virgin Islands' John Jackson this morning.

Today's win by Andrade was much more dominant than his round-of-32 victory against Georgia's Kakhaber Jvania.

Andrade's welterweight quarterfinal will be at 7:46 Sunday morning here in the United States.

AP photo / David J. Phillip
Elizabeth Beisel, right, and fellow American Margaret Hoelzer celebrate today after both swimmers ensured their places in the semifinals of the 200-meter backstroke.

North Kingstown's Elizabeth Beisel has completed her preliminary heat of the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:09.02, the sixth-best time out of 34 swimmers competing in the round.

Beisel now advances to the semifinal round of the 200m backstroke, tonight at 10:32.

She finished 2.26 seconds off the pace of first-place Kirsty Coventry, from Zimbabwe.

Beisel had a strong finish after finding herself in seventh place out of eight swimmers in her heat at the close of the first 100 meters. She moved all the way to second place between 100 to 150 meters, and remained second in the heat, behind Great Britain's Elizabeth Simmonds. who led the entire way.

Beisel's splits: 31.57, 1:04.64, 1:36.91, 2:09.02

Journal photo / Mary Murphy

The defending AFC champion New England Patriots (still stings to write 'AFC' in place of 'NFL') get their exhibition season started tonight against the Baltimore Ravens at Gillette Stadium.

The team, anticipating heavy traffic for the prime-time matchup, yesterday issued an advisory urging fans to allow plenty of extra time for their commute to the stadium.

The parking lots at Gillette will open at 3:30 p.m., the stadium gates will open at 5:30, and kickoff will be around 7:30. Click here to see the official Gillette Stadium parking guide.

If you have tickets to the game and would like to take public transportation to the stadium, a commuter rail train will leave Providence at 5:20 this afternoon and arrive at the stadium at 6:10. Trains will depart 30 minutes after the completion of the game; the round-trip fare is $12.

If you're planning on watching the game on television, you can tune to Channel 12 in Providence; or Channel 5 in Boston. It will also be on 99.7 FM radio and 790 AM.

Click here to see the weather forecast for Foxboro -- looks like it could be a wet one.

Our own Shalise Manza Young will have blog reports from Gillette Stadium later this afternoon; you can find them at projosports.com/patsblog. And tomorrow, we'll have a gallery of photos from Ruben W. Perez and Mary Murphy at projosports.com/patriots.

According to multiple sources, including SI.com and The Boston Globe, Manny Ramirez has been traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-way deal that will send the Pittsburgh Pirates' Jason Bay to Boston. We'll have more on this story later today from Sean McAdam.

Fox Sports is reporting that the Red Sox have not only sent Ramirez to the Dodgers and agreed to pay all of the salary due to him, but they have also given relief pitcher Craig Hansen and outifielder Brandon Moss to the Pirates, while Pittsburgh also gets two other players, Andy LaRoche and Bryan Morris, from the Dodgers.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Two West Virginia University basketball players, including Hendricken graduate Joe Mazzulla, were charged with scuffling with police and underage drinking after a fight at a Pittsburgh Pirates game.

Mazzulla and Cameron Thoroughman were arrested Monday at PNC Park, where the Pirates were playing the Colorado Rockies. The two were in custody and awaiting arraignment Tuesday.

Mazzulla, a 6-2 junior from Johnston, was charged with aggravated assault, hindering apprehension and underage drinking. Thoroughman, a 6-foot-7 sophomore from Portsmouth, Ohio, was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and underage drinking.

The school's athletic department said it would have a statement later Tuesday.

The 20-year-old players began arguing with police when they refused a request for identification, according to a criminal complaint. The officers said the two smelled of alcohol.

Thoroughman said he did not have ID, according to the report. Police said he lied about his age and threatened a security guard. Police said officers brought Thoroughman to the ground when he refused to put his arms behind his back. While Thoroughman was struggling with the officer, Mazzulla tried to grab his teammate and punched a police sergeant.

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl
Linebacker Tedy Bruschi talks to the media after this morning's training camp session, the first of the preseason for the New England Patriots. Click here to see a gallery of photos from the morning's session. Weather forced this morning's session indoors and kept the fans away. The Patriots will have another session -- which is expected to also be indoors -- later this afternoon. Tomorrow at 2:30 p.m., afternoon practice should be open to the public. Find more on Patriots training camp on our PatsBlog.

The Patriots have just announced that due to the weather and field conditions, today's training camp sessions have been moved indoors and thus are not open to the public. Today is the first day of camp for the defending AFC champions. Check Patriots.com for updates, and projosports.com/patsblog for Shalise Manza Young's reports later today from Foxboro.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The New Orleans Hornets have signed free agent forward James Posey.

Posey's agent, Mark Bartelstein, says Posey, who played last season for the Boston Celtics, has agreed to a four-year contract worth $25 million.

The Celtics had considered Posey to be their top offseason priority.

For more on this story later today, go to projosports.com.

Click here to see the full transcript of our interview Saturday afternoon with Olympic swimmer Elizabeth Beisel, of North Kingstown, who is in California training for Beijing. You'll also find a link to the audio of the interview.

Beisel says that what she has accomplished still has not really hit home, except that she now has a tremendous opportunity to be around the very best in her sport day in and day out. She also talked about how she managed to cut nearly 16 seconds off her 400 individual medley time from last year's World Junior Championships to this year's U.S. Olympic Trials; what it is like to swim in the high-tech, NASA-designed Speedo swimsuits; how she handles the enormous pressure of competing on such a big stage; and why she feels extremely proud to represent Rhode Island.

Tonight at 6, we continue our coverage of spring All-States by unveiling the 2008 Providence Journal HSGameTime All-State boys outdoor track team. You can find the first-team and second-team All-State listings as well as All-Division and All-Class teams, at HSGameTime.

Here is the online schedule for spring All-States. The new teams will be announced at 6 p.m. each day.

Online now: Boys tennis, golf, boys volleyball, softball, girls lacrosse, boys lacrosse, girls outdoor track
Tonight: Boys outdoor track
Tomorrow: Independent stars
Saturday: Baseball

Tonight at 6, we continue our coverage of spring All-States by unveiling the 2008 Providence Journal HSGameTime All-State girls outdoor track team. You can find the first-team and second-team All-State listings as well as All-Division and All-Class teams, at HSGameTime. Right now, you can get watch and listen to a multimedia interview with Classical track stars Victoria Flowers and Patrick Onye.

Here is the online schedule for spring All-States. The new teams will be announced at 6 p.m. each day.

Online now: Boys tennis, golf, boys volleyball, softball, girls lacrosse, boys lacrosse
Tonight: Girls outdoor track
Tomorrow: Boys outdoor track
Friday: Independent stars
Saturday: Baseball

BARRINGTON -- The patience of CVS Classic organizers apparently is going to pay off with more golf.

It has just been announced that the four teams tied at 15-under-par through 28 holes will hold a three-hole playoff, beginning at 4:05 p.m., for the title. It will be telecast live by The Golf Channel.

Play has been delayed since 12:10 p.m. because of a major electrical storm. The Rhode Island Country Club course is still waterlogged, but what apparently is the last of the rain is now falling, thus the playoff has been set.

It was determined to use 28 holes as the measuring stick for each team's finish since all teams played at least 28 holes. That means the teams of Billy Andrade-Davis Love, Rocco Mediate-Brandt Snedeker, Paul Goydos-TIm Herron and Bubba Watson-Camilo Villegas will be in the playoff.

Two other teams also were at 15-under when play was halted, the duos of Dana and Brett Quigley and Nick Price-Charles Howell. However, those teams had played more than 28 holes to get to 15-under. Howell and Price were 14-under through 28 holes and the Quigleys at 13-under.

Check a live scoreboard on the CVS Caremark Charity Classic Web site.

-Sports Writer Paul Kenyon

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Spectators clear the course at the Rhode Island Country Club as rain arrives at the CVS Caremark Charity Classic today.

BARRINGTON -- Give the organizers of the CVS Caremark Charity Classic an ``A’’ for determination. And the players, too.

As of 2:15 p.m., the tournament remains in delay. A powerful storm has blown through, flooding much of the course as it brought hail, thunder and lightning. Play was halted at 12:10 and the storm arrived about 12:40. It lasted for about an hour.

``It was hailing on the 18th fairway,'' said Darren Lee, who was in the Edwards & Angell suite on the 18th. ``It looked like golf balls were falling from the sky.'' Some of the suites had damage to their roof. The wine pavilion apparently did not survive. It was taken down by the storm.

Many of the fairways were flooded. Weather reports indicate one more storm cell could be on its way soon. Despite all that, hope remains that play will resume.

Peter Jacobsen, whose production company organizes the event, just spoke with reporters and said everything is on hold for the time being.

``Everyone’s been great. They’re all willing to stay,’’ Jacobsen said of the 20 competitors.

Many of the players have flights scheduled today. The only one with a major problem is Justin Rose, who has a commercial flight to Scotland scheduled for 4 p.m.

During the storm, spectators were allowed to go to the clubhouse, Champions Club and suites along the 18th hole, all areas normally reserved for sponsors. At least from what has been seen around the clubhouse, few people got caught in the storm. Buses became a shelter more than a source of transportation. There was one report that lightning had hit a building at St. Andrew’s School, where some of the parking is for the tournament.

Through it all, the players have cooperated fully, Jacobsen said.

``I think one reason they want to stay is because they have this ice cream bar up there (in the players area),’’ Jacobsen related. ``They have vanilla and chocolate and oreo and heath bar. They’re saying they’re doing fine there.’’

``Our first priority is to finish out the tournament and all 20 professional are on-site and available to do so,'' CVS officials said in a statement. ``If a complete finish is not an option our next step would be to initiate a playoff between the four teams tied for the lead through 28 total holes.''

-Sports Writer Paul Kenyon

Tonight at 6, we continue our coverage of spring All-States by unveiling the 2008 Providence Journal HSGameTime All-State boys lacrosse team. You can find the first-team and second-team All-State listings as well as All-Division and SENE All-League teams, at HSGameTime.

Here is the online schedule for spring All-States. The new teams will be announced at 6 p.m. each day.

Online now: Boys tennis, golf, boys volleyball, softball, girls lacrosse
Today: Boys lacrosse
Tomorrow: Girls outdoor track
Thursday: Boys outdoor track
Friday: Independent stars
Saturday: Baseball

Tonight at 6, we continue our coverage of spring All-States by unveiling the 2008 Providence Journal HSGameTime All-State girls lacrosse team. You can find the first-team and second-team All-State listings as well as All-Division and All-Academic teams, at HSGameTime. Right now, you can get watch and listen to a multimedia interview with All-State Chloe Schmitz, from the Division I champion Moses Brown team.

Here is the online schedule for spring All-States. The new teams will be announced at 6 p.m. each day.

Online now: Boys tennis, golf, boys volleyball, softball
Today: Girls lacrosse
Tomorrow: Boys lacrosse
Wednesday: Girls outdoor track
Thursday: Boys outdoor track
Friday: Independent stars
Saturday: Baseball

Bryant University today announced that former URI assistant and Ohio University head coach Tim O'Shea is the new head coach of its men's basketball program. O'Shea succeeds Max Good, who has left Bryant to take the head coaching job at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles. Bill Reynolds was at the news conference, and we'll have more from him later today.

Here's a link to the Bryant news release announcing O'Shea's hiring.

And here's the link to Kevin McNamara's story last week, which anticipated the choice of O'Shea.

Tonight at 6, we continue our coverage of spring All-States by unveiling the 2008 Providence Journal HSGameTime All-State boys volleyball team. You can find the first-team and second-team All-State listings as well as All-Division and All-Tournament teams, at HSGameTime. Right now, you can get watch and listen to a multimedia interview with All-State James Boyce, from the Division I champion East Providence team.

Here is the online schedule for spring All-States. The new teams will be announced at 6 p.m. each day.

Online now: Boys tennis, golf
Today: Boys volleyball
Tomorrow: Softball
Monday: Girls lacrosse
Tuesday: Boys lacrosse
Wednesday: Girls outdoor track
Thursday: Boys outdoor track
Friday, June 27: Independent stars
Saturday, June 28: Baseball

BOSTON (AP) - Curt Schilling says he's out for the season, and his career may be over.

The Red Sox right-hander said Friday morning he will undergo surgery next week on his injured shoulder. When asked on the WEEI "Dennis and Callahan Show" whether that will end his season, he said "Yes."

"My season is over and there is a pretty decent chance I have thrown my last pitch forever," he said.

Schilling's physician, Dr. Craig Morgan, confirmed to The Associated Press the surgery would be at his office in Wilmington, Del., on Monday afternoon.

"If you use a scale of 1-10 and 10 is pitching in the big leagues, I'm at about 3 right now," Schilling said.

He added: "I'm going in to make it not hurt anymore."

Early in spring training, Schilling's course of treatment became a sort of melodrama.

Red Sox team physician Dr. Thomas Gill recommended rehab for a tendon injury. Schilling sought a second opinion Morgan, who operated on the right shoulder in 1995 and 1999. Morgan felt strongly that surgery was best and that rehabilitation would fail - and potentially end Schilling's career.

Morgan said Friday that Schilling's shoulder is stronger than it was in spring training when he originally recommended surgery. But the original problem with the tendon persists. He said Schilling could throw off flat ground, but that not from the mound.

The 41-year-old Schilling, who's been out since the start of spring training, underwent an MRI Tuesday and after conferring with Morgan and Gill, a decision was made to do the surgery.
Up until a couple weeks ago, Schilling had still planned to stick with rehab.

"We had a rough couple of weeks, so a lot of stuff happened over the last couple of days," Schilling said. "I met with Dr. Morgan ... and Dr. Gill. It got to a point we had to make some decisions."

A team spokesman did not immediately return a call for comment.

Tonight at 6, we continue our coverage of spring All-States by unveiling the 2008 Providence Journal HSGameTime All-State golf team. You can find the first-team and second-team All-State listings as well as All-Division and the SENE All-League team at HSGameTime. Right now, you can get watch and listen to a multimedia interview with girls golf champion Samantha Morrell, from North Kingstown High School.

Here is the online schedule for spring All-States. The new teams will be announced at 6 p.m. each day.

Online now: Boys tennis
Today: Golf
Tomorrow: Boys volleyball
Saturday: Softball
Monday: Girls lacrosse
Tuesday: Boys lacrosse
Wednesday: Girls outdoor track
Thursday, June 26: Boys outdoor track
Friday, June 27: Independent stars
Saturday, June 28: Baseball

Tonight at 6, we begin our coverage of spring All-States by unveiling the 2008 Providence Journal HSGameTime All-State boys tennis team. You can find the first-team and second-team All-State listings as well as All-Division, Scholarship Awards and the SENE co-ed team at HSGameTime. Right now, you can get watch and listen to a multimedia interview with state tennis champion Kyle Burke, from South Kingstown High School.

Here is the online schedule for spring All-States. The new teams will be announced at 6 p.m. each day.

Today: Boys tennis
Tomorrow: Golf
Friday: Boys volleyball
Saturday: Softball
Monday: Girls lacrosse
Tuesday: Boys lacrosse
Wednesday, June 25: Girls outdoor track
Thursday, June 26: Boys outdoor track
Friday, June 27: Independent stars
Saturday, June 28: Baseball

Rocco Mediate, who took Tiger Woods to a dramatic sudden-death finish in the U.S. Open this past weekend, has been added to the field at the CVS Caremark Charity Classic, June 22 to 24 in Barrington.

Mediate will replace Boo Weekley, who has withdrawn for personal reasons. His teammate for the event will be Brandt Snedeker.

Mediate is no stranger to the CVS tourney.

In fact, he's won it before, in 2003, playing with Jeff Sluman.

He's also played in the classic in 2002 and 2004.

See who else is playing this year.

More to come ...

-- With reports from Journal sports writer Paul Kenyon

BOSTON (AP) - For the second time in a year, the streets of Boston will be turned into a mobile party.

Boston Mayor Tom Menino told WBZ-AM on Wednesday that a "rolling rally" to honor the NBA champion Boston Celtics will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday.

The rally is expected to start at the TD Banknorth Garden. where the Celtics clinched their 17th crown on Tuesday night with a 131-92 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

The city has held the "rolling rallies" on World War II-era amphibious vehicles to celebrate championships from the New England Patriots and Boston Red Sox.

The last one was on Oct. 30, after the Red Sox completed a four-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies in the World Series.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
State golf champion Juliet Vongphoumy gets a hug from her mother, Khingthong Vongphoumy, as her fater, Sinpaseuth Vongphoumy, looks on today.

By JOHN GILLOOLY
Journal Sports Writer

CRANSTON - Juliet Vongphoumy became the first girl to win the Rhode Island Interscholastic League co-ed individual golf title as the La Salle freshman, playing from the women's tees, posted a final-round 77 today at the Cranston Country Club and captured the title in the 36-hole state tournament.

Vongphoumy's six-over performance, combined with an even-par 71 yesterday, gave her a 36-hole total of 148 and a two-stroke margin of victory over runner-up Justin Misiaszek of Burrillville.

In tomorrow's Journal and online at HSGameTime.com, Jim Donaldson will have a profile of Vongphoumy and her unusual road to the top of the state high school golf scene.

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., is speaking now in Washington, D.C. He has already called for an independent review of the Spygate matter, something along the lines of the Mitchell investigation into steroids in baseball. He says the NFL's investigation of the matter has "strained credulity" in certain respects, including the presence yesterday of a Patriots lawyer during the interview by Commissioner Roger Goodell of Matt Walsh. Specter says he has never heard of an investigation during which a lawyer for the subject of the investigation was present during the questioning of witnesses.

More to come...

Tonight at 6, you can find the 2008 HSGameTime Providence Journal All-State boys swimming team online at www.hsgametime.com/rhodeisland.

We asked each of our first-team selections to fill out a personal survey with questions including favorite TV show, favorite subject in school, and something people would be surprised to know about me.

The swimmers' answers, as well as audio clips of the swimmers talking about what inspired them this past season, will accompany their bios on their own personal pages.

Also, you will find full listings for second-team and All-Division selections. The All-State boys swimming page in The Providence Journal will run tomorrow.

Here is the full schedule for the All-State teams. The teams will be revealed at 6 p.m. each day online, and in the following day's newspaper.

Online now: Wrestling, gymnastics, cheerleading, girls basketball, boys basketball, girls indoor track, boys indoor track, girls swimming
Tonight: boys swimming
Tomorrow: boys and girls hockey
Monday: independent stars

Tonight at 6, you can find the 2008 HSGameTime Providence Journal All-State girls swimming team online at www.hsgametime.com/rhodeisland.

We asked each of our first-team selections to fill out a personal survey with questions including favorite TV show, favorite subject in school, and something people would be surprised to know about me.

The swimmers' answers, as well as audio clips of the swimmers talking about what inspired them this past season, will accompany their bios on their own personal pages.

Also, you will find full listings for second-team and All-Division selections. The All-State girls swimming page in The Providence Journal will run tomorrow.

Here is the full schedule for the All-State teams. The teams will be revealed at 6 p.m. each day online, and in the following day's newspaper.

Online now: Wrestling, gymnastics, cheerleading, girls basketball, boys basketball, girls indoor track, boys indoor track
Tonight: girls swimming
Tomorrow: boys swimming
Saturday: boys and girls hockey
Monday: independent stars

Tonight at 6, you can find the 2008 HSGameTime Providence Journal All-State boys indoor track team online at www.hsgametime.com/rhodeisland.

We asked each of our first-team selections to fill out a personal survey with questions including favorite TV show, favorite subject in school, and something people would be surprised to know about me.

The athletes' answers, as well as audio clips of the athletes talking about what inspired them this past season, will accompany their bios on their own personal pages.

Also, you will find full listings for second-team, All-Division and Academic All-State selections. The All-State girls indoor track page in The Providence Journal will run tomorrow.

Here is the full schedule for the All-State teams. The teams will be revealed at 6 p.m. each day online, and in the following day's newspaper.

Online now: Wrestling, gymnastics, cheerleading, girls basketball, boys basketball, girls indoor track
Tonight: boys indoor track
Tomorrow: girls swimming
Friday: boys swimming
Saturday: boys and girls hockey
Monday: independent stars

Tonight at 6, you can find the 2008 HSGameTime Providence Journal All-State girls indoor track team online at www.hsgametime.com/rhodeisland.

We asked each of our first-team selections to fill out a personal survey with questions including favorite TV show, favorite subject in school, and something people would be surprised to know about me.

The athletes' answers, as well as audio clips of the athletes talking about what inspired them this past season, will accompany their bios on their own personal pages.

Also, you will find full listings for second-team, All-Division and Academic All-State selections. The All-State girls indoor track page in The Providence Journal will run tomorrow.

Here is the full schedule for the All-State teams. The teams will be revealed at 6 p.m. each day online, and in the following day's newspaper.

Online now: Wrestling, gymnastics, cheerleading, girls basketball, boys basketball
Tonight: girls indoor track
Tomorrow: boys indoor track
Thursday: girls swimming
Friday: boys swimming
Saturday: boys and girls hockey
Monday: independent stars

Tonight at 6, you can find the 2008 HSGameTime Providence Journal All-State girls basketball team online at www.hsgametime.com/rhodeisland.

We asked each of our first-team selections to fill out a personal survey with questions including favorite TV show, favorite subject in school, and something people would be surprised to know about me.

The athletes' answers, as well as audio clips of the players talking about what inspired them this past season, will accompany their bios on their own personal pages.

Also, you will find full listings for second team, All-Class and All-Division selections. The All-State girls basketball page in The Providence Journal will run tomorrow.

Here is the full schedule for the All-State teams. The teams will be revealed at 6 p.m. each day online, and in the following day's newspaper.

Online now: Wrestling, gymnastics, cheerleading
Tonight: Girls basketball
Tomorrow: Boys basketball
Tuesday: girls indoor track
Wednesday: boys indoor track
Thursday: girls swimming
Friday, April 25: boys swimming
Saturday, April 26: boys and girls hockey
Monday, April 28: independent stars

Tonight at 6, you can find the 2008 HSGameTime Providence Journal All-State gymnastics and cheerleading teams online at www.hsgametime.com/rhodeisland.

We asked each of our first-team selections to fill out a personal survey with questions including favorite TV show, favorite subject in school, and something people would be surprised to know about me.

The athletes' answers, as well as audio clips of the gymnasts and cheerleaders talking about what inspired them this past season, will accompany their bios on their own personal pages.

Also, you will find full listings for second team gymnasts and cheerleaders, as well as All-Division gymnasts. The All-State gymnastics and cheerleading page in The Providence Journal will run tomorrow.

Here is the full schedule for the All-State teams. The teams will be revealed at 6 p.m. each day online, and in the following day's newspaper.

Online now: Wrestling
Tonight: Gymnastics and cheerleading
Tomorrow: Girls basketball
Saturday: Boys basketball
Tuesday: girls indoor track
Wednesday: boys indoor track
Thursday, April 24: girls swimming
Friday, April 25: boys swimming
Saturday, April 26: boys and girls hockey
Monday, April 28: independent stars

The 2008 HSGameTime Providence Journal All-State wrestling team is online at www.hsgametime.com/rhodeisland.

We asked each of our first-team selections to fill out a personal survey with questions including favorite TV show, favorite subject in school, and something people would be surprised to know about me. The athletes' answers, as well as audio clips of the wrestlers talking about what inspired them this past season, will accompany their bios on their own personal pages.

Also, you will find full listings for the second team, All-Division and Academic All-State teams.
Tonight, HSGameTime.com will announce its All-State gymnastics and cheerleading teams.

Here is the full schedule for the All-State teams. The teams will be revealed at 6 p.m. each day online, and in the following day's newspaper.

Wednesday: Wrestling
Thursday: Gymnastics and cheerleading
Friday: Girls basketball
Saturday: Boys basketball
Tuesday, April 22: girls indoor track
Wednesday, April 23: boys indoor track
Thursday, April 24: girls swimming
Friday, April 25: boys swimming
Saturday, April 26: boys and girls hockey
Monday, April 28: independent stars

The National Football League has just unveiled the full schedule for the 2008 season. Click here to view the full schedule. The New England Patriots will begin their 2008 season with a home game at 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7, against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Pats will play one Monday night game -- at Gillette Stadium on Oct. 20 against the Denver Broncos -- as well as three Sunday night games, all on the road: at San Diego on Oclt. 12, at Indianapolis on Nov. 2 and at Seattle on Dec. 7. Additionally, the Patriots will host the Jets for a Thursday night prime-time game on Nov. 13.

Here's the full schedule for the Pats:

Sept. 7: Kansas City Chiefs, 1 p.m.
Sept. 14: at New York Jets, 4:15 p.m.
Sept. 21: Miami Dolphins, 1 p.m.
Sept. 28: Bye
Oct. 5: at San Francisco 49ers, 4:15 p.m.
Oct. 12: at San Diego Chargers, 8:15 p.m.
Oct. 20: Denver Broncos, 8:30 p.m.
Oct. 26: St. Louis Rams, 1 p.m.
Nov. 2: at Indianapolis Colts, 8:15 p.m.
Nov. 9: Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m.
Nov. 13: New York Jets, 8:15 p.m.
Nov. 23: at Miami Dolphins, 1 p.m.
Nov. 30: Pittsburgh Steelers, 4:15 p.m.
Dec. 7: at Seattle Seahawks, 8:15 p.m.
Dec. 14: at Oakland Raiders, 4:15 p.m.
Dec. 21: Arizona Cardinals, 1 p.m.
Dec. 28: at Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m.

Providence College has just confirmed that it will hire Drake University coach Keno Davis has its next basketball coach.

The question of who would replace Tim Welsh had hovered over the program for a month now. The Friars thought they had a new coach twice before in this laborious process and were ultimately turned down, first by George Mason’s Jim Larranaga and then by UMass’ Travis Ford.

Davis will be introduced at a news conference at 5 p.m. today at PC's Alumni Hall. Fans and friends of the program are encouraged to attend the new coach's introduction.

Davis, 36, won the Associated Press' National Coach of the Year award at the Final Four last week after leading Drake to a 28-5 record in his first season as head coach.

Davis arrived in Providence on Monday and discussed particulars of the job into the night with athletic director Bob Driscoll. A contract was apparently agreed upon this morning.

Davis is the son of Dr. Tom Davis who was the head coach at Boston College from 1977-82. Davis was born in 1972 and raised as a BC fan before his dad left to take a job at Stanford and then moved on to Iowa and then Drake from 2003-07 where he was joined by his son, Keno.

-- Journal sportswriter Kevin McNamara

>> Continue reading: Alert: Drake's Davis is PC's new coach

By Paul Kenyon
Journal Sports Writer

Hall of Famers Nick Price and Nick Faldo will be among the headliners for the 10th annual CVS Caremark Charity Classic.

The field for the event June 22-24 at Rhode Island Country Club was announced today, in a press conference at the Button Hole Short Course and Teaching Center, and it is one that has something for everyone. As has been the case in the past, veteran will be showcased with Price and Faldo.

For the second year in a row, women will take part. In this case two members of the winning U.S. Solheim Cup team, Laura Diaz and Nicole Castrale, will play even though it will mean missing practice rounds for the U.S. Women’s Open, which will be held later that same week.

The rising young talent on the PGA Tour will be represented, too, headed by Brandt Snedeker, who finished in a tie for third at The Masters yesterday, Charles Howell III, Camilo Villegas, who was a bit hit last year, and Floridians Boo Weekley and Bubba Watson.

Tournament veterans slated to return, in addition to co-hosts Brad Faxon and Billy Andrade, are RICC products Dana and Brett Quigley, Davis Love III, Tim Herron and Peter Jacobsen, whose company runs the event.

Stewart Cink and J.J. Henry, who combined to win the team event last year, will return to defend their title.

``I think it’s the most diverse field we’ve ever had,’’ Faxon said in summing up the field.

The final two spots in the $1.55 million event will be filled at a later date.

Rhode Islanders will be able to talk with the Rev. Donald Anderson, executive minister of the Rhode Island Council of Churches, from noon to 1 p.m. today, when he appears as a guest in an online chat hosted by projo.com.

Questions for Mr. Anderson may be submitted to the chat room now.

To submit questions in advance, or participate in the chat while it's going on, go to: projo.com/chat, log in and enter the chat room named Rev. Anderson.

Note: To enter the chat room, you may skip the "log in as member" options and simply enter a display name, then click on "login." And when typing your question, do not press enter or click send until you have finished; pressing enter will cause questions to be submitted prematurely.

As with all projo.com chats, guests may select the questions to answer, and it may not be possible to answer all questions in the time alloted.

An online transcript of the chat will be available after it ends.

For more on immigration-related events in Rhode Island, including a transcript of a chat last week with Governor Carcieri, visit projo.com's continuing report at: projo.com/immigration

Governor Carcieri today took questions on immigration issues in Rhode Island in a live chat hosted by projo.com.

Carcieri, with his spokesman, Jeff Neal, answered the questions for about an hour at midday from an executive office in the State House.

What follows is a complete transcript of the chat.

The governor's recent executive order aimed at helping to control illegal immigration in Rhode Island has generated both support and opposition in the form of protests. Here's a link to the order itself and another to coverage of recent events related to the immigration debate.

http://www.projo.com/news/pdf/2008/0327_immigrationorder.pdf

http://projo.com/extra/2007/immigration/

Governor Carcieri: Good afternoon. Before we start, I want to thank Projo.com for inviting me to participate in this online chat about the important issue of illegal immigration. I understand that this is a very sensitive topic and I hope this forum will help address some of the questions that have been raised.

Governor [Editor's note: This post is from a reader, not Governor Carcieri]: Governor I would like to hear more about your plan per your executive order to allow government entities or officials to send or receive from INS info regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual and the federal government established the E-verify program.... and to verify SSN#. What will be your approach with state entities, such as, investigators of different departments that work in the field and they find individuals that are recipients of state benefits for their US children only who are undocumented aliens. Such as, Low income child care assistance

Governor Carcieri: It’s a long answer but the upshot is that state departments such as the Department of Human Services already use a federal database to verify the immigration status of individuals applying for benefits. Over the last few years, we have worked to tighten up the system to ensure that only those who are entitled to benefits can receive them. The federal government also audits our performance in allocating federally-funded benefits to ensure that we are conforming to federal law.

artfer0307: You're executive order will affect only a relatively few illegal immigrants. My question is; What exactly do you want to ultimately see happen for the other 39,000 plus illegal immigrants who currently make their home here in Rhode Island?

Governor Carcieri: I’m not sure I agree that the impact will be as minimal as you say, but it is true that there is a much larger group that won’t be directly affected. I have been very clear that this is a federal issue and needs to be addressed by the federal government. I support federal immigration reform. But until the federal government (Congress, in particular) acts, I have an obligation as an elected official to abide by current federal law. I would also add that, to the extent we make certain that no illegal immigrants are employed by the state or its contractors, the employment opportunities will be diminished. This order will also deal with illegal immigrants who have committed crimes. The General Assembly is also considering legislation, which I support, to mandate that all employers use E Verify.

Ethan: Governor Carcieri, I'm wondering how agencies doing business with the state have reacted to your executive order so far? Has anyone raised a stink yet?

Governor Carcieri: Good question. We have not received any negative reaction from any contractors doing business with the state. However, we are still working our way through the process by which contractors will verify the employment status of their employees. It is likely that if any concerns exist, they will be expressed at that time.

april: I know that immigration is a problem, but have you ever thought of all the money that the state could earn by helping these people? Licenses alone would add a ton of money into the state, with permit fees, license fees, and car insurance. Not to mention work permits as well. Even if it is just temporary until it is resolved on a federal level?

Governor Carcieri: Actually, I support the idea of the federal government issuing more work permits. State government cannot issue work permits. Income to be derived from fees on licenses would be minimal, in my judgment, in comparison to the financial impact in our schools, hospitals, prisons, and social service agencies.

>> Continue reading: Transcript of Governor Carcieri's immigration chat

Jim Larranaga has decided to remain as head basketball coach at George Mason and not accept an offer to come to Providence College, according to PC associate athletic director Arthur Parks.

PC athletic director Bob Driscoll said in a statement:

"Over the last several days it became public knowledge that we were in discussions with George Mason head coach Jim Larranaga about becoming our men's basketball coach. We offered him a very substantial package but he was too comfortable in his current situation and opted to stay at George Mason. As a result, I will continue to have ongoing discussions with the other finalists in this search. I remain very optimistic that we will find a head coach who will embrace the rich tradition of Friar basketball and move the program forward."

PC recently fired Tim Welsh as its head coach, after a disappointing season and a record in 10 years as coach of 160-143.

For updates to this story this afternoon and tonight, check our Sports Blog.

Journal photos / Bob Breidenbach
Relief pitcher Hideki Okajima greets children in the Tokyo Dome before the start of a Red Sox baseball clinic today.

Manny Ramirez takes some swings with a weighted bat.

For more reports from Sean McAdam and Bob Breidenbach in Japan, plus pitch-by-pitch coverage of tomorrow's regular-season opener against the Oakland Athletics, go to projo.com/redsox.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Clay Buchholz work out with the Red Sox today in the Tokyo Dome.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Red Sox pitcher and former Japanese league star Daisuke Matsuzaka bows to photographers at the Dome.

AP photo / Itsuo Inouye
Red Sox pitchers, from left, Tim Wakefield, Mike Timlin, Bryan Corey and Curt Schilling present team jerseys to U.S. Army Japan Commanding Gen. Elbert Perkins and Garrison Japan Commander Robert Waltemeyer. The four Sox players were visiting Camp Zama, west of Tokyo.

While we're getting our days started here in Rhode Island, the Red Sox are finished with the first full day of their weeklong trip to Japan. Above are a few photos from the day, which included an official welcoming ceremony, a tour by four Red Sox pitchers of a U.S. military base, and a team workout in the Tokyo Dome.

At 11 tonight our time (noon tomorrow Tokyo time), the Red Sox will play an exhibition game against the Hanshin Tigers, a Japanese professional team. Projo sports writer Sean McAdam and photographer Bob Breidenbach are accompanying the team on the trip, and you can stories and photos on our Red Sox page and our SoxBlog.

We'll also have pitch-by-pitch coverage of next week's regular-season games in Tokyo against the Oakland Athletics on the Red Sox page.

Click here to see a slideshow of Bob Breidenbach's photos from today in Tokyo.

Journal photos / Bob Breidenbach
Club president/CEO Larry Lucchino

Lucchino and relief pitcher Jonathan Papelbon

Relief pitcher Manny Delcarmen and family

TOKYO -- The Red Sox are in Japan today, and there the team will be until Wednesday, as they take their spring training and begin their season across a continent and sea.

During their visit, they'll play exhibition games against 2 Japanese teams and then, they will actually open their regular season in Japan with two games in the Tokyo Dome against the Oakland A's.

After leaving, they'll head for Los Angeles, then Oakland, Calif., to round out their 2 1/2-week trip.

Providence Journal staffers will be with them all the way, sending in their reports and photos first to projo.com via projo.com's SoxBlog. Projo.com will also cover the regular games, pitch by pitch.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- An agreement has apparently been reached between the Red Sox and Major League Baseball; today's spring training game against the Blue Jays will be played about an hour late at 1:10 p.m..

-- JOE McDONALD and SEAN McADAM

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Tampa Bay's Rocco Baldelli will begin the season on the disabled list because of a condition that the 26-year-old outfielder says leaves him extremely fatigued after short workouts.

Baldelli has been sidelined since last May because of lingering hamstring problems and has appeared in just 127 of 486 games the past three seasons because of an assortment of injuries. He has played in two games this spring, going 0-for-4 as a designated hitter.

Baldelli will be sidelined indefinitely, but said he is not retiring. He said there hasn't been an exact diagnosis but that doctors have told him he has "some type of metabolic and/or mitochondrial abnormalities."

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Tampa Bay's Rocco Baldelli will begin the season on the disabled list because of a condition that the 26-year-old outfielder says leaves him extremely fatigued after short workouts.

Baldelli has been sidelined since last May because of lingering hamstring problems and has appeared in just 127 of 486 games the past three seasons because of an assortment of injuries. He has played in two games this spring, going 0-for-4 as a designated hitter.

Baldelli will be sidelined indefinitely, but said he is not retiring. He said there hasn't been an exact diagnosis but that doctors have told him he has "some type of metabolic and/or mitochondrial abnormalities."

Rhode Island lost its only local all-sports radio station today when Citadel Broadcasting told employees it would be changing formats on WSKO AM and FM.

"In the end, it was purely a business decision," said Barbara Haynes, Citadel's general manager. "The hosts'' -- Andy Gresh and Scott Zolak in the morning, and Scott Cordischi in the afternoon -- "are good men, and they have a great future in radio."

"And the programming was first-rate," added Ron St. Pierre, WSKO's programming director.

But Haynes confirmed the arrival of WEEI-FM, Boston's powerful all-sports radio station, into the Rhode Island market in April 2004, started a downward spiral in WSKO's ratings.

WSKO's FM signal, 99.7, will begin simulcasting WPRO-AM's programming on Tuesday. To avoid confusion with the existing WPRO-FM signal, it will be called "Newstalk Radio 630 and 99.7" on the FM side.

The AM signal, 790, will continue to carry "Imus In The Morning" and will carry syndicated ESPN programming for the rest of the week. Haynes and St. Pierre said plans beyond that had not been finalized, though Cordischi indicated the station would switch to a syndicated oldies-music format.

Cordischi said he was told of the decision when he arrived at the station Monday afternoon to begin preparing for his show. He did not go on the air; ESPN's "Stephen A. Smith Show" was broadcast in its place. Gresh and Zolak did their normal broadcast, but were told after their show was over.

"We had no inkling. None of us did,'' said Cordischi, who said the station's employees will receive four weeks' severance pay. Cordischi had signed a three-year contract in January, but said the contract contained a clause which stipulated the agreement could be severed at any time.

Rhode Island lost its only local all-sports radio station today when Citadel Broadcasting told employees it would be changing formats on WSKO AM and FM.

"In the end, it was purely a business decision," said Barbara Haynes, Citadel's general manager. "The hosts'' -- Andy Gresh and Scott Zolak in the morning, and Scott Cordischi in the afternoon -- "are good men, and they have a great future in radio."

"And the programming was first-rate," added Ron St. Pierre, WSKO's programming director.

But Haynes confirmed the arrival of WEEI-FM, Boston's powerful all-sports radio station, into the Rhode Island market in April 2004, started a downward spiral in WSKO's ratings.

WSKO's FM signal, 99.7, will begin simulcasting WPRO-AM's programming on Tuesday. To avoid confusion with the existing WPRO-FM signal, it will be called "Newstalk Radio 630 and 99.7" on the FM side.

The AM signal, 790, will continue to carry "Imus In The Morning" and will carry syndicated ESPN programming for the rest of the week. Haynes and St. Pierre said plans beyond that had not been finalized, though Cordischi indicated the station would switch to a syndicated oldies-music format.

Cordischi said he was told of the decision when he arrived at the station Monday afternoon to begin preparing for his show. He did not go on the air; ESPN's "Stephen A. Smith Show" was broadcast in its place. Gresh and Zolak did their normal broadcast, but were told after their show was over.

"We had no inkling. None of us did,'' said Cordischi, who said the station's employees will receive four weeks' severance pay. Cordischi had signed a three-year contract in January, but said the contract contained a clause which stipulated the agreement could be severed at any time.

BOSTON (AP) - Injured Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling has arrived at spring training.
Schilling was at the team's facility in Fort Meyers, Fla., Wednesday morning. He has not spoken to the media.

All pitchers and catchers must report by 5 p.m. They'll undergo physicals Friday, and the first official workout is Saturday.

Schilling has an injured shoulder tendon. The Red Sox's team physician believes the tendon is damaged, not torn, and rehabilitation gives the right-hander his best chance to play this year.
However, Schilling's doctor has said he needs surgery if he wants to pitch again.

Click the play button below to see Bob Breidenbach's photos from today in Fort Myers, and to hear how it all sounded today, as recorded by Bob.

NEW YORK (AP) - Goose Gossage became only the fifth relief pitcher elected to the Hall of Fame, earning baseball's highest honor Tuesday on his ninth try on the ballot.

Known for his overpowering fastball, fiery temperament and bushy mustache, the former New York Yankee received 466 of 543 votes (85.8 percent) from 10-year members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Former Red Sox slugger Jim Rice was passed over yet again, getting 392 votes (72.2 percent), up from 346 (63.5 percent) last year and 16 short of the 75 percent needed. He will appear on the writers' ballot for the 15th and final time next year, when career steals leader Rickey Henderson will be among the newcomers.

Andre Dawson was third at 358 (65.9 percent), followed by Bert Blyleven at 336 (61.9 percent).
Mark McGwire, a casualty of the Steroids Era in some writers' minds, received just 128 votes - the exact total he had last year. His percentage increased slightly to 23.6 percent, up from 23.5 percent last year when he was on the ballot for the first time.

Gossage, who fell short by 21 votes last year, joins Hoyt Wilhelm (1985), Rollie Fingers (1992), Dennis Eckersley (2004) and Bruce Sutter (2006) in Cooperstown's bullpen.

Gossage was a nine-time All-Star who pitched for nine major league teams from 1972-94 and had 310 saves - 52 of them in which he got seven outs or more.

He will be inducted July 27 in Cooperstown, joined by five men elected last month by the revamped Veterans Committee: former commissioner Bowie Kuhn, former Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley, managers Dick Williams and Billy Southworth and ex-Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss.

Jan. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots was named the National Football League's Coach of the Year after leading his team to an undefeated regular season.

The Patriots were 16-0, making Belichick the first coach to lead his team through the season without a loss since Don Shula did it with Miami in 1972.

The perfect record earned the Patriots' coach 29 of the 50 votes from a nationwide media panel in balloting conducted by the Associated Press.

The season started with the NFL fining Belichick $500,000 and the Patriots $250,000 plus the loss of a first-round pick in this year's draft after the team was caught videotaping New York Jets coaches on the sidelines Sept. 9.

Green Bay's Mike McCarthy was second in the balloting, receiving 15 votes for leading the Packers to a 13-3 record and the National Football Conference North Division title.

Dallas' Wade Phillips and Jacksonville's Jack Del Rio each received two votes, while Indianapolis' Tony Dungy and Tampa Bay's Jon Gruden got one apiece.

Belichick won the award in 2003 after leading New England to a 14-2 regular-season record, winning its final 12 games before claiming the second of three Super Bowl titles.